Need A Hook

      High tide was 8.6 feet above datum at 1:01a.m. last night and slack tide was -.8 feet below datum at 7:16 a.m.  this morning.  Although not unusual to see a sailboat heeled over like this under sail, it does make for difficult sleeping conditions while on the hook, but then they didn't need a hook.

Update - later that day about 1 hour before high tide the boat was gracefully towed out of the marsh.

Happy Hours

M/V Broulee passing the light at Thomas Point Shoal (Annapolis, MD)

     What was supposed to be a quick one day reunion with Rick, Deb & Izzy (M/V Broulee) has turned into the start of our newest adventure as we have decided to start moving south.  We will buddy boat with Broulee for a few days, slowing moving down the Chesapeake Bay.  One of the many perks of having a buddy boat is the "mandatory" happy hours.

The Herding Effect

     This October will be our first anniversary as full time cruisers.  We have learned very much in that time.  However, we do realize that there is more to learn.  You can never be a consummate master of anything.  Part of the learning curve is recognizing tendencies of other boaters.  This is especially true when it comes to anchoring, one of my favorite subjects.  While in the Bahamas, I paid special attention to our anchor and gear, learning how it reacted to different influences such as tides or winds.  It's surprising, when the water is very clear, to see how the boat is oriented into the wind because of your rode, in our case chain, and the relationship of the boat to the actual location of the anchor.  On numerous occasions I noted that although we were in a light breeze, enough to put tension on the rode, the anchor was actually resting to either side of the boat or under the boat.  On most occasions, the rode served more as an anchor than the anchor itself.

    When selecting an anchorage to drop the hook, the exact location can be dictated by tides (currents) and/or the winds for most boaters.  Some boaters select a very close, tight anchorage for absolute wind protection, as if they have an auto-defense mechanism to ward off the bugs laying in wait to suck out their blood.  We prefer, and it has been well documented in this blog, wide open anchorages, to allow for the slightest breeze to flush out any heat within the boat that has been generated by the sun.  Remember when I mentioned tendencies of other boaters?  We have discovered a tendency of boaters when they approach an anchorage with another boat already at anchor i.e., Big Run.  The new arrival, despite it being a very large anchorage, capable of holding many, many boats, will anchor right next to you, let's say 200 feet away or less.  Then as more boats arrive, they too will anchor next to you and any other boats that are already anchored.  It's like you know something special about the anchorage, and they want to be part of it too and anchor next to you despite the fact that you do not know them.  Never mind the other 20 acres that they could anchor in, they need to be next to someone.  We have dubbed this phenomenon the "Herding Effect".

George's House

   Sunrise at Mt. Vernon    

It has been many years since I stood on the porch of Mt. Vernon as a youth.  I very distinctly remember standing there looking out onto the Potamac River.  Even then with my very vivid imagination, I never dreamed of being anchored on my boat in front of George's house.

"Get Out Of Jail Free Card"

     Yesterday was another first for the crew of Big Run.  After spending another night on San Domingo Creek south of  St. Michael, MD, Sharon and I decided to head over to Cambridge, MD.  About 2 hours into the cruise I looked over to the port side and noticed a United States Coast Guard Vessel 30 feet off of our port beam with its blue lights flashing. It was one of those small 24' RIB with a crew enclosure, enough room to shelter four coasties.  After a nod of the my head to acknowledge them I returned to my duties of piloting the boat knowing very well what their intentions were.  Later I looked over and one the crew was hanging on the side trying to contact us.  I grabbed the microphone of our VHF radio and indicated that they should contact us by radio.  The following is a brief history of the VHF radio transmissions:

       Coast Guard:  Big Run, Big Run this is the United States Coast Guard 22589 on channel 16

       Big Run:  Coast Guard 22589, this is Big Run

       Coast Guard : Big Run, please switch to 22 Alpha

       Big Run:  Coast Guard, this is Big Run, shifting to 22 Alpha

       Big Run:  Coast Guard, this is Big Run on 22 Alpha

       Coast Guard:  Big Run, when was the last time you were boarded?

       Big Run: uh, Never!

      Within 5 minutes, 2 young Coast Guard serviceman were on board Big Run without us having to stop or slow down.  For the next 15 minutes we were given a safety inspection and had our documentation checked.  Needless to say we passed with flying colors.  We were given a "certificate" to show we were boarded and passed our inspection.  We were also informed that the certificate was valid for 6 months to 1 year, just in case we were stopped for another inspection within that time frame, we could use that certificate as a "get out of jail free card".

Dead Flat Calm

     Whereas when we got up yesterday morning to foggy conditions, today was completely different.  The skies were brilliant blue, no clouds and the wind was calm, as a matter of fact, there was no wind and the water was smoother than glass.  Conditions that I would call dead flat calm.